Machine for decorticating fibrous plants.



No. 666,645. Patented Ian. 29, 19m.

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MACHINE FOR DEGOBTICATING FIBROUS PLANTS.

- (Application filed June 22, 1900.)

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(No Model.)

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No., 666,645. Patented lan. 29,190l. T. BUBROWS. MACHINE FDR DEGDRTIGATING FIBROUS PLANTS.

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UNITED STATES TAYLOR BURROWS, OF STAINES, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE RAMIE FIBRE PATENT OFFICE,

SPINNING SYNDICATE, LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

MACHINE FOR DECORTICATING FIBROUS PLANTS.

SPECIFIGATIONfOI-mingpart of Letters Patent No. 666,645, dated January 29, 1901.

Application filed June 22, 1909. Serial No. 21,166. (No model.)

T and whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TAYLOR BURROWS, engineer, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Hope Villa, Clarence street,

Stai-nes, in the county of Middlesex, England, have invented certain new and useful improvements in machines for breaking or decorticating and scutching fibrous plants, stems, or strawssuch as ramie, hemp, and the likethroughout the length thereof, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine or apparatus for both breaking or decortioating and scutching fibrous plants, stems, or strawssuch as ramie, (known also as rhea or china grass,) hemp, jute, &c.throughout the entire length thereof, the present invention being especially designed and adapted for separating the fiber or fibrous parts from the boon or woody part and pellicle (or the greater part thereof) of ramie or the like plants, stems, or straws, especially while in the green state, so as to get such fiber into the condition known in England as china grass 0r rhea ribbons, although of course this machine may be employed for treating any other fibrous plants, stems,or straws for which same may be applicable.

The invention consists of a machine or apparatus comprising one or more pairs of feed crushing-rolls extending the whole width of the machine,with a feed table or apron adapted to first feed the fibrous material at one point to said rolls, scutching-rollers or scutching devices also extending the full width of the machine and arranged behind said feed crushing rolls and revolving at a much greater peripheral speed than the latter, an overhead traveling endless belt mounted at right angles to and above said feed crushingrolls and scutching devices, but to one side thereof onlyi. 6., not over the point where the fibrous material is first fed into the machine, as aforesaidand adapted to carry the fibrous material back to the feed end of the machine, a feed-apron mounted alongside the first-named feed-table at the feed end of the machine, just below said overhead belt, and adapted to automatically feed into the feed crushing-rolls, but at a different point therein to the first-named point, the fibrous material returned by the overhead belt as it drops off the latter, and another apron at the back end of the machine, but to one side thereof only-via, opposite to and under the said overhead beltwhereby the fibrous material (which is DOW fully decorticated and scutched throughout the whole length thereof) is delivered clear of the machine, all as hereinafter fully set forth and finally pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the ma chine. Fig. 2 is a plan of the machine; and Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on line 3 3, Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow 2, Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout.

X is the usual or any suitable standard or frame of the machine. A is the main driving-shaft, journaled in said frame and driven by abelt on the fast and loose pulleys A A from any suitable source of power or driven in any other suitable manner. B B are toothed wheels on the opposite end of shaft A, the larger one, B, meshing with the pinions O O on the shafts D of the scutching devices D and revolving the latter at a high rate of speed, said pinions C O gearing with piuions O 0', whereby the top rollers or scutching devices are correspondingly revolved, while the smaller one, B, gears with the large toothed wheel E 011 the shaft F of the lower roll of the front pair-of fluted feed crushing-rolls F F, and this shaft F has gearwheel F on the opposite end thereof, which through the intermediate toothed wheel F drives the toothed wheel F on the lower roll of the second pair of feed crushing-rolls F F. The upper roll of each of these pairs of fluted rolls F is revolved by frictional contact with its lower roll.

G G are ordinary springs for holding down the bearings or journals of the shafts or necks of the scutching devices D D and rolls F F, all the parts marked A to G, respectively, being old and well known separately.

The novel features in this machine are more especially as follows:

H is a narrow feed-table-i. 6., about half the width of the machinelocated to one side of the machine and which feeds to only one part of the rolls F and not to the whole width thereof. I is an overhead belt arranged to the opposite side of the machine.

J J J are rollers around which passes the belt I, motion being imparted to the roller J (which is fluted) by frictional contactwith the top roll F of the front pair of fluted rolls F, or motion may be imparted to the roller J from the gear-wheel F by means of an intermediate gear wheel (not shown) and a toothed wheel (not shown) on the shaft of the roller J, and also the roller J may be driven, if desired, whereby the belt I is (when the machine is running) caused to travel around continuously in the direction of the arrow y.

K is a feed-apron arranged alongside the feed-table H and disposed below the belt I, said feed-apron K passing around two rollers M N, one of which, M, is driven by an intermediate gear-wheel O, meshing with the gearwheel F P is a trough orframe in which is journaled the rollers J J around which the belt I passes, said trough or frame P being fixed to and carried on the main frame X in any suitable manner.

Q is the delivery-belt, which passes around the rollers Q Q the shaft of the latter having sprocket-wheel R fixed thereon and a chain R running around same, and the sprocketwheel R fixed on the shaft F, (see Fig. 2,) by which means motion is imparted to the delivery-belt Q.

S is a shield or guide to one side of the delivery end of the machinethat is to say, this guide-plate S is located to that side of the machine opposite the feed-table H and clear of that side of the machine where the feeding-apron K and delivery-belt Q are disposed. Below said guide-plate S is mounted the sloping plate T, to one side of and clear of the delivery-belt Q, against which plate T the ends of the fibrous material fall as same come through the machine for the first time.

The operation is as follows: The fibrous materialplants, stems, straws, &c.is laid on the feed-table H and fed for the first time in between the feed crushing-rolls F and are then acted upon by the more quickly revolving scutohing devices D, and as the ends emerge from the latter they are turned downward by contact with the under side of the guide-plate S and hang down against the sloping plate T. (See Fig. 3.) The attendant at the delivery end of the machine takes hold of the bunch of fibrous material as it thus comes through the machine for the first time, and as soon as it is clear of the scutching device the attendant raises said bunch bodily and lays it on the overhead belt I, with the now unscutched ends in the position of the arrow y, and in this position the bunch of fibrous material is carried by the belt I toward the front end of machine again, and the now unscutched ends drop off the belt I and come in contact with the feed-apron K,

just below said belt I. Thereby said unscutched ends of the fibrous material are now fed foremost in between the feed crushingrolls F F opposite the said feed-apron Kand are then acted upon by the scutching devices D D, and the bunch of fibrous material then passes out of the machine onto the deliverybelt Q, now thoroughly scutched from end to end, and is delivered by said belt Q clear of the machine. Meantime subsequent bunches of fibrous material can have been passed into the machine, so that several successive bunches of material can be in process of treatment at the same time in said machine.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is'

1. A machine for decorticating and scutching fibrous plants stems or straws of the character described throughout the length thereof; consisting of the combination with feed crushing-rolls and scutching devices each pair of which extend the full width of the machine, of a feed-trough located to one side of the machine, an overhead endless traveling belt mounted to the opposite side of said machine and adapted to return the fibrous material when laid thereon to the feed end of the machine, and a feeding-apron arranged below said overhead belt and adapted to feed said fibrous material for the second time into the machine but at another point in the feed crushing-rolls to where same is fed in for the first time, substantially as set forth.

2. A machine for decorticating and scutching fibrous plants stems or straws of the character described throughout the length thereof; consisting of the combination with feed crushing-rolls and scutching devices each pair of which extend the full width of the machine, of a feed-trough located to one side only of the machine, an overhead endless traveling belt mounted and located to the opposite side of said machine and adapted to return the fibrous material when laid thereon to the feed end of the machine, and a feeding-apron arranged below said overhead belt and adapted to feed said fibrous material for the second time into the machine but at another point in the feed crushing-rolls to where same is fed in for the first time, and a delivery-apron adapted to receive the fibrous material as the latter comes through the machine the second time, and deliver same clear of the machine, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A machine for decorticating and scutching fibrous plan ts stems or straws of the character described throughout the length thereof; consisting of the combination with aframe X of feed crushing-rolls F,intersecting scutching-rollers D arranged in pairs, a feed-trough H located to one side of said machine and adapted to feed the fibrous material to one point in between said crushingrolls and scutching devices, a guide-plate S diagonally disposed at the delivery end of the machine and located to one'side thereof opposite said the aforesaid endless belt I, and a deliverybelt Q at the rear end of the machine but located to one side thereof only opposite the aforesaid feed-apron K, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

TAYLOR BURROWS. Witnesses:

F. W. FRIGOUT, H. D. J AMESON. 

